Detachable pour spout



.Oct- 1943. A. J. GRAMP 2,331,971

DETACHABLE POUR S'FOUT Filed Jan. 15, 1941 dfiedllmzzp Patented a. 19,1943 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE DETACHABLE roux srou'r Alfred J. Gramp,Atlantic City, N. J. Application January 15, 1941, Serial No. 374,549 2Claims. (01. 22 -23) This invention relates to the dispensing of liquidsand is more particularly concerned with the provision of a pour spoutfor use with liquid containers of-the type of paint cans.

Liquids such as paint, syrup, lubricating oils, etc., are at presentvery largely distributed'to the retail market in cans provided with lidsof the t pe that seat in an annular groove provided in the topcylindrical wall of the container.' Cans of this type have manyadvantages in conjunction with the storage and shipment of liquidmaterials since such containers may be readily superimposed and occupyrelatively little space for the volume of liquid contained. However, theuser of materials so packaged is frequently .hampered by diiliculty inpouring the material from the container, the problem being misdirectedflow caused by passage of the' liquid over that edge of the container inwhich the lid retaining groove is'impressed.

To overcome the difilculty outlined above, a number of pour spouts havebeen devised. These, when broadly considered, may be divided into twogroups; a type permanently attached to the dispensing container, and adetachable type adapted for use with the container after the lid hasbeen removed. The-chief advantage of the permanently attached type ofpour spout is that it cannot become lost and may ordinarily be locatedin such a way as to avoid interference with the positioning of the lid.However, it is readily recognized that the transportation and storage ofmetallic containers having permanently attached pour spouts is adiflicult matter. Ordinarily, such cans cannot be superimposed and inshipment will occupy considerably more space than cans not so equipped.Naturally, the additional space occupied causes increases in shippingcost.

The detachable type of pour spout towhich this invention relates hasheretofore been widely used but has not been totally devoid; ofdisadvantages. While a detachable pour spout does not in any wayinterfere with the transportation and storage of liquids in containers,the usual construction is ,flimsy, adaptable to but one size containerand does not protect the lid retention groove of the can in such a wayas to exclude the liquid material in the can from that groove so thatthe material will not act as an adhesive when the lid is restored tonormal position. This is particularly true in the case of containershaving paint or syrup therein and it is' a common practice to encounterconsiderable difliculty in removing the lid from a can after the lidretaining groove thereof has been accidentally filled with paint orsyrup; incident to pouring, and the lid has been restored to positionand allowed to stand for a period of time suflicient for the liquidmaterial to dry.

Aside from difliculties incident to the entry of paint into the lidreception groove of a can, detachable pour spoutsof conventionalconstruction are not adapted for removal from the can in such a way asto avoid soiling the hands.

It is an object of this invention to overcome all of the foregoingdisadvantages and to provide a detachable pour spout adaptable for usewith paint cans or the like of any size.

By the use of this invention, it is contemplated that the detachablepour spout may be used in conjunction with a paint can or thelike duringa pouring operation and that during such operation the lid retentiongroove of the can. will be wholly protected against accidental fillingby the material being dispensed. I

It is a further object of this invention to provide 'a detachable pourspout which may be cheaplyand easily constructed which is reliable andeflicient in operation and which may be readily attached to andseparated from the container with which it is used in such a manner asto totally avoid soiling of the hands by contact with any materialremaining on the pour, spout after the pouring operation.

Other objects and advantages of this invention will be apparent from aconsideration of the following detailed description thereof inconjunction with the annexed drawing wherein:

Figure 1 is a top plan view ofone form of this invention adaptable foruse with cans of varying sizes, the flexing of the spout for insertionin a can of small diameter being illustrated in broken lines; and

Figure 2 is a View in vertical section showing the pour spout of Figure1 in operative position in association with a can of conventionalconstruction.

Referring particularly to Figures 1 and 2 of the annexed drawing, itwill be seen that the pour spout illustrated consists of agenerallycrescent-shaped pouring lip l0 and a reinforcing wire I l. The inneredge of the crescent-shaped lip Ill is provided with a plurality ofintegrally spaced depending tabs I 2. These tabs are deformed to definea barrel l3 through which wire H is passed,the free end of each tabbeing firmly secured tothe under side of lip I0. Thej' free ends ofreinforcing wire ll extend from,

both ends of barrel l3. v{Iliese are bent, as shown i,

in Figures 1 and 2. to provide handles for the flexing of wire II andfor the placement and removal of barrel it from the groove of the can.

The material from which the pouring lip is made is of considerableimportance. It has been found that a heavy weight paper or light cardstock may be used satisfactorily, while the wire II should be made of amaterial such as lead which is readily deformable but will maintain theposition into which it is flexed. In lieu of lead, the member ll may bemade of reed, a resilient fiber or other material satisfactory for thepurpose. It is essential, however, that the material used for wire ll beeasily deformable and of a type which will maintain the position intowhich it is flexed. It will be apparent that both lip II and barrel itmay be made as a unit of molded paper stock of suitable rigidity. Inthis event, a continuous wire, such as wire ii, may be eliminated, itbeing sufficient to provide only wire portions projecting from eitherend of the barrel to serve as gripping handles. By reference to Figure2, it will be seen that the cumulative thickness of barrel l3 and wireii is just suflicient to fully occupy the groove ll of a shipping can ofconventional construction.

In operation, the form of the invention illustrated in Figures 1 and 2is ordinarily stored, shipped and sold in a fully flat conditionas'indicated in the full lines of Figure 1. device is to be used, thelid is removed from the liquid container and the free ends of the wireii are gripped and moved toward one another. This movement is continueduntil the wire has been flexed into a curvature corresponding to that ofthe groove into which it is to be placed Thus, by a slight flexure ofwire II, the device may be adapted for cans of large size, while greaterflexure will render the device useful for smaller cans. In view of thefact that tabs l2 are spaced apart, the card stock from which pouringlip II is made will not be distorted or wrinkled at the point ofattachment to wire ll thereby avoiding any overlapping of the paperwhich would cause ridges tending to either hamper or prevent theinsertion of the barrel l3 and its contained wire ll into groove ll. Asindicated in the drawing, advertisements may be applied to eithersurface of lip ll and, of course,

directions for use may be likewise imprinted thereon. In the commercialdistribution of this device, it may be desirable for the manufacturersof paint and like materials to furnish devices shown in Figures 1 and 2free of charge to purchasers of the material which they are selling.

Although the device is made of paper, the flexure of wire H imparts acurvature to lip it which considerably increases its strength. By theuse of ordinary light weight card stock, one may be assured that thepour spout will be sufficiently When the and integral lip it from grooveIt. It will be recognized that during the pouring operation the freeends of wire II will not come in contact with the material beingdispensed. As a consequence, when removing pour lip 10 from operativeposition, it is only necessary to pull up on the free ends of wire ii toeffect separation of the spout i'rom the container with which it wasused. It will be understood that when a can is placed in uprightposition after a pouring operation the flow-back of liquid along lip IDwill be partly interrupted by the inside rim of the can. In order toavoid seepage of. paint into groove ll, one free end of wire H isgrasped and slowly lifted upwardly and at the same time moved toward thecenter of the can. This causes a wiping action serving to force theremaining paint back into the can without spilling, either outside ofthe can or within groove i4 thereof.

The crescent shape of lip i0 is of considerable importance since thepour spout in operative position will notconstitute a vertical extensionof the cylindrical wall of the container with which it is used (see inparticular Figure 2). The sloping arrangement, on the other hand,permits considerably improved flow control with less tilting of thecontainer.

Having now described the invention in its preferred form, it isunderstood that variations and modifications may be made therein withoutdeparting from the spirit of the invention, and it is desired that thescope thereof be limited only by the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A detachable pour spout for paint cans and the like comprising, agenerally crescent-shaped pouring lip of paper card stock provided atits inner edge with a plurality of integral spaced tabs formed to definea barrel, and a wire of soft rigid for use even with heavy material suchas paint. I

The free ends of wire Ii are also very useful in conjunction with theremoval of barrel i3 metal disposed within said barrel the free ends ofsaid tabs being attached to the solid body portion of said lip, saidbarrel reinforced with said wire being adapted to be flexed forinsertion in the groove normally provided for a can lid, the

- softness of said wire rendering the device adaptable to any angle ofcurvature of said groove and the flexure of said paper serving tomaintain the spout rigid, while the spaced tabs forming the barrelrender the latter of approximately constant cross sectional arearegardless of the angle of curvature thereof to substantially fill agroove regardless of its radius.

2. A detachable pour spout for paint cans and the like comprising, agenerally crescent shaped pouring lip of disposable deformable materialprovided at its inner edge with a plurality of spaced tabs deformed todefine a barrel, and a readily deformable reinforcing element locatedwithin said barrel, said barrel with said reinforcing element thereinbeing adapted to flex, without appreciable variation in cross sectionalarea, for insertion in the groove in a paint can regardless of theradius of said groove.

ALFRED J. GRAMP.

